Day 14: Don't lose the P's

Day 14:
Theme: Don’t lose the P’s
Passage: Mark 4:1-20

3-8"Listen. What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled among the weeds and nothing came of it. Some fell on good earth and came up with a flourish, producing a harvest exceeding his wildest dreams.
9"Are you listening to this? Really listening?" MSG

Are you listening to God? REALLY LISTENING? We have covered a lot in the last few days. You may have been introduced to the pain and suffering of these kids that you never knew existed. Others of you may have been reminded of experiences and reflections you have had in a long forgotten past.

In the point where we are in following Jesus in his Life of missions work we have come to a very well known story, the Parable of the Sower. Jesus defines for us 3 types of bad soil and 1 type of good soil. Only the good soil causes things to grow and become fruitful.

You may be at one of these points right now. The first type of soil we see is the road. A hard, dry, dusty, dirt that tramples the seed to death before it has a chance to grow. You may be already feeling a hard heart for others. To each his own sort of mentality. You have your own worries and cares and just want to have an adventure and keep it from being personal. You need to find your PURPOSE in life that God has for you.

The second soil we see is full of rocks. The roots take hold just a bit, there looks like growth but then something up-roots you. Many experience the plight of the orphan, hear the stories. They come back from an adventure to share their new found ‘cause’ with their friends and family who having not been on the same trip do not understand or at times even care. They may play devil’s advocate “So you’re telling me working and supplying for my family is bad and I should give all my money to the poor?” And before too long you lose your PASSION. What was the initial purpose that you had in telling others about the plight of the poor? To change them, or to educate them little by little?

The third soil we find is okay but the weeds around it are not. Some of you may have a heart for missions or a Purpose, and you also have the PASSION, but the weeds around you have made you lose your Perspective. You are strangled by fears, worries, and the cares of this world. You could not leave your family. Your job you’ve had for 15 years is too safe to give up for your passion. These fears take away the perspective that God had given you.

But there is good news. Let’s take the parable another step. If you were a farmer and you had a dry, dusty field what would you put on it? Fertilizer/ manure. It’s messy and it smells. For rocky soil, you till the ground. You break the crust and dig to the deeper better soil. For weeds, you eradicate, you pull them out. Are you starting to see the similarities with our spiritual growth? Sometimes God has us go through things that STINK, they hurt, and often they even break us; yet in the end they leave us better and wiser in our faith!

It is so easy to become overwhelmed by the needs. There is no way you can save them all. But one person can make a huge difference.

Reflection:
What is your God called Purpose? How is your Passion? How is your Perceptive of the issue?

Are you allowing God to till your hearts, break open the hard parts and help you live more like him?